Samsung to Capitalize on First OLED-Based iPhone in 2017

Samsung Display will remain the global leader among AMOLED display suppliers over the next few years, with shipments estimated to increase to 560 million units by 2019, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes Research.

Galaxy-S7-iPhone-6s
Samsung Electronics, which produces the company's lineup of Android-based Galaxy smartphones, is expected to remain Samsung Display's largest customer over the next few years, with its in-house AMOLED panel demand projected to grow from 239 million units in 2016 to 290 million units in 2019.

Apple is rumored to release its first OLED-based iPhone in 2017, moving away from traditional LCD technology it has used since 2007 for at least one iPhone model. The report estimates that Samsung Display will supply Apple with 40 million AMOLED panels in 2017, 80 million units in 2018, and 120 million units in 2019.

LG Display, AU Optronics, Japan Display, and Foxconn-owned Sharp may also share production of OLED panels for future iPhones.

Earlier this year, DisplayMate found that Samsung's Galaxy S7 makes a compelling case for Apple to switch to OLED display technology. Possible benefits include increased brightness, improved color accuracy, improved screen visibility in bright environments, and more efficient power consumption.

A number of China-based smartphone vendors, including Vivo, Oppo, GiONEE, Huawei, and Lenovo, have also adopted or decided to adopt AMOLED panels in the future, with Samsung Display's combined shipments to them projected to increase from 99 million units in 2016 to 150 million units in 2019.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...

Top Rated Comments

iHack13 Avatar
117 months ago
APPLE! PULL YOUR BLOODY TROUSERS UP AND PACK THE NEXT BLOODY PHONE WITH EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. DAMMIT!
Hi,

Apple Engineer speaking here. We are working on it and we will not disappoint you. As a first step we are going to put 2GB RAM into this beast. And its going to be thinner too!

/s
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zwhaler Avatar
117 months ago
Wouldn't it be cool if Apple dropped that new iPhone this year. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tinmania Avatar
117 months ago
They also have drawbacks like color degradation over time due to breakdown of the organic materials at different rates for each color of LED. I suspect Apple will only switch to AMOLED once the problems have been eliminated (or reduced to a manageable level).
In other news my nearly four-year-old Note 2's display looks as it did on day-one. I used it for two years straight before buying a Note 4, then as a backup as I used the Note 4 and now an iPhone 6S Plus. In some ways I prefer its display to my 6S Plus.

Considering my Note 2 came out in 2012, and much progress has been made since then, you will have to excuse me if I think your comment is just a bunch of sour grapes.



Mike
[doublepost=1467217680][/doublepost]
As long as they do something about the colour on those amoled displays, Samsung phones look horrifically oversaturated.
Yet the average person prefers the "pop" of those displays. But it can very easily be changed to your preference of "dull" but "more realistic" in just a few seconds. The point is it is a setting, not set in stone. The display itself is far better than what is currently in the iPhone. And I own an iPhone 6S Plus.



Mike
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gaximus Avatar
117 months ago
They also have drawbacks like color degradation over time due to breakdown of the organic materials at different rates for each color of LED. I suspect Apple will only switch to AMOLED once the problems have been eliminated (or reduced to a manageable level).
Most problems have already been eliminated. http://www.oled-a.org/images/pdfs/OLED%20Myths.pdf
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
117 months ago
Every time there is an OLED story the same, stale, anti-OLED arguments get thrown about. There's almost a willful ignorance by some to how technology has progressed. No wonder Apple has been able to get by with so little innovation on the hardware side.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_mdavenport Avatar
117 months ago
Wouldn't it be cool if Apple dropped that new iPhone this year. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Dropping an all-glass iPhone sounds like a bad idea ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)